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The 20 best places to find cheap books online.

Visiting a local library is a great way for avid readers to save money. But when you’re after a copy for your own library the internet is your best bet. Finding cheap books online is quick and easy when you know where to look; lucky for you, we’ve done the research to bring you 20 of the best online bookstores. Some will help you pin down a specific title, while others are great fun to browse. On some you’ll find second-hand books for as little as $1, and on others you’ll find brand new copies of the latest releases for a competitive price. Whatever you’re after, the best site for your needs is listed below!

1. AbeBooks 

🌟 for click-worthy curated lists !

2. Better World Books

As well as being good for the soul, shopping at Better World Books is good for your pocket. Despite being in good condition, most of their used books cost less than $4. Plus, they offer free worldwide shipping on all orders, and pay for carbon offsets to minimize the eco-footprint of all those books traveling around the globe. Really want to treat the environment? Opt for eDelivery and have your book scanned and sent to you digitally in as little as two hours.

🌟 for cheap classics that’ll help you complete our list of books to read in a lifetime !

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When you click on an item, there will usually be a number of buying options. If Amazon itself is selling a Prime-eligible title, the price will be competitive. But if you’re looking to purchase a second-hand copy from an independent seller, there should be some cheap used options, too — just watch out for shipping costs!

Finally, though you and Amazon may go way back, you might not have made the acquaintance of their Kindle Daily Deals and Bargain Books . If so, we’re delighted to introduce you! These pages are updated daily with ebooks and books at rock-bottom prices — so keep an eye out for titles on your TBR!

🌟 for super speedy shipping times!

Alibris was established in 1998 to bring the power of e-commerce to independent booksellers and collectors. So if you simply have to have that signed copy, first edition, or out of print hardback, this is the place to look for it. That’s not to say you won’t find recent bestsellers, famous classics , and popular fiction on this site, too: they house a pretty good balance of old and new for young and old. And you won’t struggle to find cheap books either among all those more expensive collector’s items. Just head to the “Bargains” tab and browse by genre, or select the “Used” filter when browsing their book categories. 

🌟 for additional coupons when you join their mailing list, starting with $5 off!

5. Book Mooch

For something a little different, look to Book Mooch and forget the arduous hunt for cheap books online — this site is practically free! Once you sign up, you just enter in a list of books you own and would like to get rid of, as well as a list of books that you’d like to own but don’t currently have. When someone requests one of your old books, you simply ship it to them (this is the only cost involved) and earn yourself a point. That point can then be used to request a book from someone else on Book Mooch! This system won’t work if you’re looking to build a large collection of books. But on the other hand, if you do just want to clear out your shelves, you can choose to donate the points you earn to charity. 

🌟 for stocking plenty of non-English language books, as well as popular fiction!

6. Half Price Books

The founders of Half Price Books opened their first used bookstore way back in 1972, in an old laundromat in Dallas, Texas. Now they operate more than 172 stores in 17 states, but their mission remains the same: to “promote literacy and be kind to the environment” by collecting, donating, and passing on gently used books. 

Unless you’re a non-profit organization or a local school, you’ll have to get your hands on their inventory of cheap books online. Their marketplace features more than 20,000 individual sellers, so if you’re searching for a particular title, just pop it in the search bar and you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a copy. Or, for their best bargains, head to their “Superbuys” category, where you’ll find discounted books starting at less than $2!

🌟 for frequent coupons to save you even more money!

Biblio sells itself as a unique online bookstore for bibliophiles. They specialize in carefully curated collections from independent booksellers around the world — many of which tailor to booklovers with niche interests, and those looking for rare, antiquarian books. But don’t worry: if you’re not into collectibles, you can also find a great selection of cheap second-hand titles by browsing the “Discount Books” section under the “Specials” tab. 

Purchasing from Biblio will also do some good in the world! The site uses its profits to help build libraries in rural communities in South America. 

🌟 for offsetting all shipping with carbon credits!

8. Book Outlet

While you won’t find this year’s New York Times bestsellers at BookOutlet.com , you will find ridiculously cheap books that are just as worthy of your time. How so cheap? Most of the books sold on this site are what they call Bargain Books: excess inventory or store returns from publishers. So while they haven’t been read by anyone else, they might have a little bit of wear and tear from being shipped around or out on the shop floor. 

Book Outlet isn't our first recommendation if you’re looking to find a specific book cheaply. But if you’re happy to just browse, then their featured lists — including staff picks and books in clearance — make it easy to find great deals on great titles. 

🌟 for keeping unwanted books out of the trash!

Whether you’re looking for a cookbook, a textbook, a collectible, or the latest fiction, always check eBay before buying from anywhere else. We can’t guarantee you’ll find it for pennies, or even that you’ll find it at all! But the magic thing about eBay is that absolutely anyone can become a seller — so the listings are unpredictable both in terms of what books are sold and how much they cost. You never know when you’ll come across a rare book for the cheapest price you’ve seen. The shipping cost and the condition of the book can also be a little unpredictable, but sellers have to be upfront about both, so always check the description and you should avoid any surprises. 

🌟 for the excitement of bidding!

If you’re browsing for cheap books online from a homestead across the pond, then this UK company, Hive , is one worth checking out. Its staff has set out to keep the high-street shopping experience alive, while providing all the convenience (and competitive prices) of online browsing. From finding local bookshops to meeting passionate staff, the social side of book-buying hasn’t disappeared from this retailer. And to support independent bookstores (so they don’t disappear either), Hive asks you to choose a bookshop to receive a percentage of your money after every purchase. If you like, you can even collect your order from a bookstore near you — or have it delivered to your door. Both delivery options are completely free for customers in the UK!

🌟 for championing new authors with their Rising Writers featured list!

11. Awesome Books

To get the most out of Awesome Books , you’ll need to head to the “Bargain Bin” tab: this is where they keep all the books that’ll make discount-seekers happy. Though the chances that you’ll find a specific title are pretty slim, if you’re happy to browse, then you can stumble across some great titles at great prices. What’s more, the cost of shipping isn’t going to hike up the price: for shoppers in the UK, shipping is free, and in most other countries your books will ship for a flat £2.99! 

Awesome Book’s real selling point, however, is that every time you make a purchase on their site, they donate a book to a child in need. They hope to improve literacy where access and opportunities are limited, and help children who otherwise might not own a book to perform well in school. 

🌟 for 20% off your first order!

12. Magers and Quinn

If you’re a nonfiction fanatic, then head to MagersAndQuinn.com for deeply discounted new and used titles. They have some great books on a huge range of topics, from architecture to business, fashion to gardening, middle eastern history to media studies. And if you haven’t yet found your nonfiction niche, then their “staff picks” are a great way to discover interesting new books — and maybe even a brand new hobby!

🌟 for housing some of the best books on writing in their “ Loft Bookshelf ”!

13. Paperback Swap

Like Book Mooch, Paperback Swap is all about ditching your old books to make money (and room) for new ones. The system works the same way: you list what you’ve got, ship it off when it’s requested, and earn a credit. You can then make a list of the books you’d like, and when someone’s selling a copy, you can use your credit to request it. You can also use your credits to buy brand new books for a discounted price. Once you’ve read a book, it’s yours to keep — or you can swap it again in an endless chain of book love! 

🌟 for two free credits when you sign up!

14. Thrift Books

Thrift Books has a huge collection of cheap, new and used books online. By using the search bar, or browsing their “Categories” and “Featured” tabs, you’ll be able to find pretty much any book you could want — including comic books, graphic novels , and manga. Then, you choose the condition: the books still looking good as new are the most expensive, while you can snag some excellent deals on books that have been well-loved. 

Used books will always have a decent chunk of money knocked off, but most recent bestsellers cost over $20 on this site. People who rehome pre-loved books are great friends to the environment, so we always encourage used book-buying wherever possible. But sometimes only new will do — we get it. To find cheap new books browse the bestsellers page filtered for books under $5 — and always keep your eyes peeled for extra money-saving deals!

🌟 for free US shipping on orders over $10!

15. Wordery

UK-based Wordery is out to rival Amazon by providing an alternative haven for book-shopping, where you can find the books you love, at low prices, and have them delivered to you for free — wherever you’re located. The “alternative” aspect is all about enjoyment. Wordery’s founders think retailers like Amazon have sucked the soul out of book-buying — so their site recaptures the friendly, helpful spirit of a traditional bookstore, with all the convenience of shopping online: great value, round-the-clock access, and over 10 million books to choose from!

🌟 for working with charities to improve literacy among young people!

16. Daedalus Books

Daedalus Books prides itself on selling quality new books for incredibly cheap prices — cheaper even than Amazon (though the selection is quite a bit smaller). Most of their books have been remaindered by publishers: this means they’re new books that have gone unsold. While some of the titles that end up in this sticky situation admittedly aren’t very good, the staff at Daedalus Books know what they’re looking for. They do a great job of curating a collection that includes classic books as well as last year’s best sellers. The best deals live under the “Last Chance” tab, and are available for less than $3. But watch out for shipping costs: the standard rate is $8.95!

🌟for 10% off when you sign up to their mailing list!

17. Powell’s

Powell’s began as a Portland-based bookstore back in 1971, but you can now browse a huge selection of their cheap books online — we’re talking more than three million! While they stock a variety of new books, you’ll find the best bargains under the “Used” tab. There you can filter your results by price, award, and award year — so expect to find some recent titles you’ve been dying to read! Though discounted, the books on Powell’s aren’t dirt-cheap. But it’s still better than paying full price, and they’re very picky about the quality of the used books they stock. Plus orders of $50 and up ship for free, while everything else ships for a flat $3.99. 

🌟 for excellent staff picks to broaden your literary horizons!

18. The Strand

Though it’s not quite the same as browsing through the stacks of this NYC bookshop in real life, shopping online at StrandBooks.com comes pretty close. And you’ll have access to all of their 18 miles of books, including rare out-of-print books and pre-orders that arrive hot off the press. Old or new, used or unused, every book on this site is sold at a discounted price and is in excellent condition. As well as being picky about the pre-loved books they buy, the staff at The Strand are real New York literati, so the “ Staff Picks Table ” on the “First Floor” is well worth a look. (And how great is it that they organise their site like a bookshop?!)

🌟 for recommended reading lists from your favorite authors!

19. Books A Million

The online arm of the huge US retail chain Books A Million , this is the site to shop for new copies of popular titles at a good price. You can also get your hands on slightly discounted pre-orders — so you can have the hottest new read in your hands the moment it comes out. Since BAM doesn’t stock many used books, the average price certainly isn’t the lowest on this list. However, under the “Bargain Books” tab, you’ll find all their best deals, including classics starting at less than $5 — many of which we consider to be the best books of all time . 

🌟 for being generous with coupon codes!

20. Book Depository

Amazon-owned Book Depository doesn’t sell used books for next-to-nothing prices like some of the other sites on this list, but it does knock a small percentage off every book it stocks — which means you’re likely to find the cheapest prices for the newest titles right here. Their “Bargain Shop” also helps you find the best bargains in every genre, including books by Jacqueline Wilson, Ann Cleeves, and Zadie Smith. But the best bit about Book Depository is that it offers something every shopper loves to see: free worldwide shipping!

🌟 for stocking all the bestsellers that have been sitting on your TBR!

For books that are completely free (once you have an eReader), check out our post on public domain books and where to find them. Or head to our list of the 25 best places to find free ebooks . 

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Top 12 websites to buy cheap books in 2024.

If you are an avid reader, buying books can cost you a fortune. Luckily, you don’t have to buy all books brand-new (unless you do so on principle). Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to buy books on a budget. One of them is buying used books from various online sellers. In this article, we’ve prepared a list of the best online resources where you can buy books cheaply in 2024.

1. BookScouter

We’ll put eBay second on our list of top websites to buy cheap books in 2024 because it’s where you can find an avalanche of cheap books. Besides, you can either buy them for a fixed price or participate in an auction. The latter feature is not an advantage for a bookseller. However, if you are a buyer looking for cheap used books, this may be your catch, as auctions for more or less popular books often start from $1 or even less . By bidding at the lowest possible price, you can sometimes get a great book almost for nothing. However, keep in mind that you will have to pay for shipping, and the shipping rates may be higher than the price of the book itself. eBay is also one of the best places to search for rare collectibles. Such books won’t cost you a few bucks; however, you can come across a rare book and, if you are lucky, buy it for an affordable price.

4. AbeBooks

6. Powell’s Books

7. Better World Books

8. BookMooch

9. ThriftBooks

11. Half Price Books

12. Book Outlet

The Final Thoughts

Nowadays, there are many places where one can find used books at low prices; however, we recommend doing it online. For one thing, it’s faster and more convenient; for another, you can check all the available bookseller options just in a few clicks and get your order delivered to your doorstep in a few days. We’ve researched the most popular online booksellers in 2024, and the 12 websites we’ve described in this article appeared to be the best, according to many book lover reviews.

We hope that this list will be helpful in your book search. And a friendly reminder: you can always check price comparison websites like BookScouter before going to a bookseller directly to see the entire price landscape at once and choose the best possible offer.

Natalie Meyers

Natalie Meyers is a freelance writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience. As an English major and a psychology graduate, she worked as a teacher and a counselor. As a writer, she's covered a diverse range of topics from technology to publishing. She is an avid reader who believes that books help us become more authentic versions of ourselves. At BookScouter, she's a smart writer and an expert in all things books.

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14 Easy Tips to Always Find Cheap Flights

Last Updated: March 15, 2024

For most trips, airfare is the most expensive part of the trip. While prices for transatlantic flights have gone down in recent years, they can still put a sizeable dent in any travel budget. Whether you’re a budget solo traveler or a family looking to vacation abroad, finding a cheap flight deal can be what makes or breaks your trip.

After all, if your flight is too expensive, you’re likely going to keep putting the trip off. I’ve seen it happen time and time again.

And yet every day, airlines have thousands of amazing deals — from mistakenly published fares to special promotions to slashing prices to compete with another airline. Cheap fares are out there and they can make your dream trip a reality — if you know where to look (I start all my flight searches with Skyscanner ).

Today, I am going to help you master the art of finding a cheap flight. These are the exact steps I’ve been following for a decade to get the cheapest airfare possible every time I fly. If you follow them too, you’ll never be the person on a flight who paid the most for their ticket!

Here’s how to find a cheap flight no matter where you want to go in the world:

Table of Contents

1. Ignore the Myths

2. be flexible with your travel dates and times, 3. be flexible with your destinations, 4. keep an eye for special deals, 5. fly budget carriers, 6. don’t always fly direct, 7. remember not all search engines are equal, 8. take advantage of student discounts, 9. mix and match airlines, 10. use points and miles, 11. search ticket prices for individual travelers, 12. look for tickets in other currencies, 13. book early (but not too early), 14. book hidden city fares, find your cheap flights today.

The first thing to know about finding a cheap flight is that there is no magic bullet or one secret ninja trick to doing so. There are a lot of myths online about how to find cheap flights. In fact, you’ve probably come across a ton of them on your search to find the best flight deal!

They are all lies. They will lead you astray.

Most websites hire terrible reporters who recycle common and outdated myths. Here are the most common that are 100% not true:

• It is NOT cheaper to buy airfare on a Tuesday (or any other specific day for that matter).
• There is NO evidence that searching incognito leads to cheaper deals.
• There is NO exact date or specific time period in which to book your airfare.
• You can’t predict airline prices and websites that do are basically taking an educated (but probably wrong) guess.

Airlines use advanced computer and pricing algorithms to determine prices and run sales based on the time of the year, passenger demand, weather, major events/festivals, time of day, competitor prices, fuel prices, and much more. Those so-called “tricks” don’t work anymore. The system is too smart. Throw them out. Let them die.

Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. Anyone who is telling you doesn’t know what they are talking about.  

Airline ticket prices vary greatly depending on the day of the week, time of year, and upcoming holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving, or the Fourth of July. August is a big month for traveling around Europe , and everyone wants to go somewhere warm in the winter or travel when the kids are out of school.

In a nutshell, if you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then your ticket is going to cost more.

The solution is to fly off-season. Search alternative dates so that you can capitalize on the best day. The more rigid your plans, the less likely it will be that you find a deal.

Try to be flexible with your dates. If you are dead-set on visiting Paris , go in the spring or fall when fewer people visit and airfares are cheaper.

But if you want to go in the middle of August? You’re out of luck. Hawaii over Christmas? Good luck! Prices will be at their highest.

Moreover, it’s almost always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend because most people travel on the weekends and airlines hike their prices then. Prices are cheaper if you fly after or on a major holiday. Early-morning or late-night flights are also cheaper because fewer people want to travel then (who wants to wake up early?!). Fridays and Mondays are expensive because that’s when most business travelers fly.

When searching on Skyscanner , simply click on the date field to expand the calendar view and you’ll immediately see the cheapest months to fly. On this search from NYC to Paris, you can see that traveling during September, November, or December would be half as much as traveling during June or July:

Airlines are not dumb. They know when a festival, holiday, major sports event, or school break is coming up — and they raise prices accordingly.

Be flexible with your dates and times and you’ll save yourself some major money.  

If you can’t be flexible with when you fly, at least be flexible with where you fly. It’s best to be flexible with both, but if you really want to save the most money and get a cheap flight for your trip, you at least need to be flexible with one or the other.

Airline search engines have made it really easy to search the entire world to find the cheapest ticket. You no longer have to search manually, city by city, day by day. Websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights offer explore tools that allow you to put in your home airport and see a map of the world with all the flights on it. This allows you to easily compare multiple destinations without having to brainstorm every possible option. You’ll likely even find some interesting destinations you hadn’t even thought of either!

If you are flexible with where you want to go (i.e., anywhere but home), all you need to do is type “Everywhere” into the search box on Skyscanner or “Anywhere” if you’re using Google Flights.

The truth about airfare is that there’s always a deal to some destination — it might just not be your first choice. However, if you’re flexible about where you want to go, you’ll always get a deal and save a ton of money in the process.

When you are locked into one place at one time, you are stuck with whatever price shows up. Nothing can change that. But when you become flexible, suddenly the entire world opens up to you and you’ll find amazing cheap airfares!  

Before you start looking for specific lights, make sure you’ve signed up for some newsletters. Joining the mailing list for airlines and last-minute deal websites will give you access to the absolute best deals out there. Sure, 99% of them might not fit your itinerary but keeping your eye on the deals will ensure you don’t miss an amazing opportunity.

More often than not, cheap flights are only available for a limited window (usually 24 hours). If you aren’t always scouring the web for sales, you’ll likely miss out on the best deals.

I would have missed out on a round-trip ticket to Japan for $700 USD (normally $1,500) as well as a $500 flight to South Africa if I wasn’t signed up to flight deal websites.

Additionally, airline newsletters often offer frequent flier bonuses. Those points and miles can add up to free flights and awesome upgrades.

Aside from joining airline newsletters, the best website for finding travel deals is Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) . It’s the BEST for upcoming US flight deals and new users can get 20% off a Premium membership with the code NOMADICMATT20.

Other sites worth checking out are:

• The Flight Deal – Great for global flight deals.
• Holiday Pirates – The best for European flight deals.
• Secret Flying – A great site for flight deals from around the world.

Years ago, if you wanted to fly between continents, you were mostly stuck with traditional expensive airlines. That’s no longer true. These days, you can fly most of the way around the world on a budget airline. Sure, they might not be as comfortable and you may need to pay for premium upgrades like checked bags and meals, but they bring the world to your doorstep without breaking the bank.

Budget airlines mainly service short and medium-haul routes. While many budget carriers (notably Norwegian Air) scrapped their long-haul routes during COVID, new ones (like PLAY, Norse Atlantic Airways, and French Bee) have now arisen to take their place.

For now, budget airlines mainly operate regionally so it’s really easy to find a cheap flight, even during this age of higher prices.

• Flair Airlines
• Air Canada Rouge
• Air Transat

United States

• Allegiant Air
• Spirit Airlines
• Sun Country Airlines
• Hong Kong Express
• Spring Airlines
• T’Way Airlines
• Cebu Pacific
• VietJet Air
• Norwegian Air

Australia/New Zealand

Middle East

Flying budget airlines is a good alternative to flying “the majors” whenever possible. You get fewer perks, but you can save a bundle in price.

Just be sure to watch out for fees. That’s how they make money! Budget airlines often charge fees for checked bags, carry-ons, printing your boarding pass, using a credit card, and anything else they can get away with. Be sure to add up the cost of the ticket AND the fees to make sure that the price is lower than a larger carrier.

You’ll also want to double-check the location of the budget airline’s airport at your intended destination. These airlines often fly in and out of airports that are quite far from the actual city, with limited and expensive transportation options.

For example, the shuttle to Beauvais, the budget airport for Paris , costs 17 EUR one-way. If you’re flying roundtrip, this means that you should add about 34 EUR to the price of your plane ticket to see if you’re even saving much by flying a budget airline.  

Not only does it help to be flexible with dates and destinations but being flexible with the route you take is another way to get a cheap flight. For example, sometimes it’s cheaper to fly to London and take a budget airline to Amsterdam than to fly direct to Amsterdam from your departure city.

I did precisely this when I was going to Paris. The flight from the US was $900 USD, but I could fly to Dublin for $600 and get a $60 flight to Paris. It meant more flying time, but the $240 USD I saved was worth it to me.

To use this method, find out how much it is to go directly to your destination. Then, open Google Flights and type in that destination’s continent to look at prices to nearby airports. If the difference is more than $150 USD, I look to see how much it is to get from the second airport to my primary destination (either by budget flight or train, if it’s not too far). You can use Rome2Rio to help search for the best ways to get between a nearby airport and your primary destination.

You can also do this for leaving too. It might be cheaper to fly out from a nearby airport. I often search other airports to see if it’s cheaper to fly/drive/train there and then fly to my final destination. For long international flights, it can be worth the added time!

If you do book separate segments, be sure to have at least three hours between connections. This will give you space in case there is a delay as your second flight won’t wait for you (you booked with a separate airline, so they won’t care if you’re late or not).

Leaving a three-hour buffer will also cover you for an insurance claim since most insurance companies require you to have at least a 3-hour delay before you can make a claim.

This method is more work since you have to figure out lots of different routes and check different airlines. But it can lower the price of your flight, which is worth the extra effort if you end up saving a few hundred bucks.

Note : If you ever have a delayed flight to or from Europe, you might be owed additional compensation (upwards of 600 EUR). Here’s how to find out if you’re entitled to compensation!  

In order to find the best deal, you need to search multiple websites. Many major search sites don’t list budget carriers or obscure foreign carriers because those airlines don’t want to pay a booking commission. Others don’t list booking sites that aren’t in English. And others still only display prices retrieved directly from airlines.

In short, not all flight search websites are created equal and all have their pros and cons.

Since there is no perfect airline search engine, you’ll want to search a few to compare. Even the best have their faults. That said, I have a few favorites I always start with as they tend to consistently show the best results. To me, the best websites to find a cheap flight are the following:

• Skyscanner – The best booking site out there. They have a great user interface (and a great app for mobile )
• Google Flights – Great search engine that lets you see prices for multiple destinations.

Typically, I start all my searches with Skyscanner because it searches all major AND budget airlines, non-English websites, English websites, and everything in between. They vet all the sites they link to as they have strict criteria on who they operate with. It’s one of the most comprehensive booking sites out there and they have the lowest price 99% of the time. I’ve been using them since 2008, and it’s the search engine all the other travel experts I know use too.  

If you are a student (or under 26), there are many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 10-20% off the standard fare. Travel agencies like Flight Centre and Student Universe can help find you a cheap ticket. Don’t overlook them!

Additionally, keep in mind that most student discounts transfer over to airline partners. For example, Lufthansa offers a student discount, which means you can use that discount on partner airlines such as Swiss Airlines and Austrian Airlines. This will allow you to go much further afield while still saving a ton of money.

If you’re not sure which airlines offer discounts (they don’t make this information easy to find), visit their website or call them. Doing a little digging to save 20% (or more) will be worth it!  

When you book directly with an airline, you’ll only be able to fly that airline and any partner airlines it has. That means your options will be limited when it comes to finding the perfect itinerary or saving the most money.

Usually, that will suffice. However, if you’re chasing greater savings, try booking your tickets on separate airlines. For example, if you’re flying from New York to Paris, you might have a stop in London. Booking both legs as one ticket will be simple, but it likely won’t save you money.

Instead, book your New York to London flight as one ticket and then your London to Paris ticket with another airline. That will allow you to shop around for the best bargain. It’s more work, but the savings (and flexibility) can be worth it.

This is what most third-party booking websites like Kiwi.com do. They piece together trips using whatever flights they can find to ensure you get the cheapest price.

If you’re hunting for the lowest possible price and aren’t happy with what you’re finding on the airline’s website, try booking separate segments. You might just stumble onto a great deal!  

As soon as you know you want to travel somewhere you should sign up for a travel credit card. Using points and miles is the #1 way avid travelers like me earn free flights, travel perks, and free hotel stays. Travel credit cards offer huge welcome bonuses, credit toward rideshares like Uber or Lyft, access to airport lounges, travel insurance, and much more.

You don’t need to do any extra spending either. I earn over a million miles a year — without flying or spending extra money. That translates into dozens of free flights (often in business class) for myself and my family.

If you are smart with your money and collect points and miles, you can travel around the world for very little (and often free). Here are some articles that can help you get started:

• Points and Miles 101: A Beginner’s Guide
• How I Earn 1 Million Frequent Flier Miles Every Year
• Is Collecting Points and Miles Really a Scam?
• The Ultimate Guide to Points and Miles
• The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Best Travel Credit Card
• The Best Travel Credit Cards for Travelers

If you already have some points and miles collected, consider joining a platform like point.me . It’s a search and booking engine that helps you find the best ways to use your points and miles. It searches 30+ loyalty and 100+ airline programs to find the best value possible so you never waste your miles! Get your first month for just $1 with the code NOMADICMATT .  

If you’re traveling with friends or family, don’t search for or buy multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always show the highest ticket price in a group of tickets which means you’ll end up paying more money.

Airlines have tons of different price points for tickets (these are based on a variety of factors). They want to sell tickets in the highest fare bucket possible and, when they group tickets together, always list prices in the highest fare bucket.

For example, if you are a family of four and you’re searching for four seats, the airline will find four seats together and show your fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is $200, seats B and C are $300, and seat D is $400, it will price those tickets as $400 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. If the price difference is large, that translates into a sizeable extra expense.

For that reason, always search for tickets as a single person. Afterward, in the checkout process, you can pick your seats so you and your family are sitting together. And even if you end up not beside one another, that’s a fair trade for saving a few hundred dollars.  

If your country’s currency is currently strong compared to others around the world, search for airfare in a country where the currency is weaker.

For example, when the US dollar was strong and the New Zealand currency weak, I found a one-way flight from Australia to NYC for $1,000 USD. However, when I searched on the New Zealand version of the airline, I found the same ticket for $600 USD.

It was the same airline, same flight, and same booking class — it was just booked in a different currency. This tip does not always work, but it works often enough that it’s something worth trying if your currency is currently doing well.

( Tip : Always use a no-foreign-transaction-fee card to avoid paying a surcharge .)  

Airline fares keep rising the closer you get to departure, but there is a sweet spot when the airlines begin to either lower or increase fares based on demand. Don’t wait until the last second but don’t book far, far in advance either. The best time to book your flight is around 2-3months before your departure, or around five months before if you are going to your destination during their peak season.

This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though, so use it as a guide. I could go on forever about airline pricing models but airlines raise prices closer to departure because the people who book last minute tend to be price insensitive business travelers so they will pay whatever. So don’t book last minute!  

This is a more advanced (and riskier) way of finding cheap flights, but if you’re adamant about spending as little money as possible, it’s worth looking for hidden city fares. This is when you book a flight that has a layover in your desired destination. You then get off the plane and exit the airport at the layover city instead of continuing onto the final destination that you booked the ticket for.

For example, say you want to fly from Austin to Atlanta. A flight from Austin to New Orleans with a stop in Atlanta might be cheaper than booking Austin to Atlanta directly.

As you can imagine, this practice can get complicated and tricky. There are a few crucial elements to keep in mind, namely that once you skip a leg, the airline cancels the rest of your trip. That means that you cannot buy round-trip flights and do this practice on your departure flight, because your return flight will be cancelled. Also, you cannot check bags, as they will end up in the final destination on your ticket, not where you get off.

Additionally, airlines strongly frown upon this practice, so you don’t want to advertise that this is what you’re doing, and you don’t want to do it often, otherwise you might get flagged.

All that being said, you can save hundreds of dollars with hidden city flights, and it’s perfectly legal. It’s easy to search for hidden city flights on the website Skiplagged . Just do so at your own risk!

Finding a cheap flight is all about being flexible and getting creative. It may take some effort, but the deals are out there if you’re willing to look. Follow the tips above to get started, but don’t waste hours and hours hunting for a cheap flight. If you’re spending more than an hour booking a flight, you’re spending too much time.

Once you find a flight deal that you’re happy with, book right away, as airfares change by the minute. Remember that you have a 24-hour window to cancel in case you need to.

Use the tips above on how to get a cheap flight to get the ball rolling. Do that, and you’ll always get a great deal!  

I start all my searches with Skyscanner because they search all major AND budget airlines, non-English websites, English websites, and everything in between. Even if you aren’t sure of your plans, it’s best to start searching for flights today. People who wait to book are people who end up spending the most.

Use this widget to plan your next trip:

READ NEXT —-> How to Put This Into Practice: 5 Step-by-Step Instructions for Booking a Flight

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. If you have any questions about the companies or my status as an affiliate, please don’t hesitate to email me.

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The 9 Best Sites to Book a Cruise

Avital Andrews

Avital Andrews, SmarterTravel's editor-at-large, is a travel and lifestyle journalist who is also a contributing editor for AAA's Via magazine. Her stories have been among the 10 most emailed or viewed on the Los Angeles Times, Outside, Sierra, and SmarterTravel websites, and have also appeared in USA Today, HuffPost, Apple News, Business Insider, and many other nationwide outlets. Her travel book , sold at bookstores and on Amazon, is in its fourth edition, and her journalism gets national media attention, including from The New York Times , The Atlantic , Time , NPR, and MTV. She's currently working on her first children's book. Follow her on Twitter @avitalb .

The Handy Item I Always Pack: My laptop—the lightweight and stylish HP Spectre x360—since I'm almost always on deadline.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: A round-the-world cruise that makes stops to experience Aurora Borealis, the Olympics opening ceremony, Borneo, Madagascar, the Jerusalem Festival of Light, the Bolivian salt flats, Kenya's Giraffe Manor, the Galapagos, the Maldives, Bora Bora, the Seychelles, and every Disney park. (That itinerary definitely exists, right?)

Travel Motto: I'll steal Saint Augustine's: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Window, always. For the views and also the naps.

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Booking a cruise isn’t always simple. It can be a complicated, time-consuming process that involves dozens of open tabs and maybe a spreadsheet or two. But knowing the best site to book a cruise can help a lot.

And while would-be travelers are accustomed to clicking around on travel search engines to find the best deals on flights , hotels , and rental cars , many people don’t realize that they can use these same types of sites to book cruises, too.

But is there one best site to book a cruise? That depends on what you’re looking for. Sometimes the best cruise website is actually a cruise line’s own site—since technically, cruise booking websites aren’t allowed to undercut the prices that the cruise lines set.

Often, though, the best cruise search engines are indispensable for locating incredible deals, including ones that throw in booking incentives worth hundreds of dollars—in Amazon gift cards, complimentary shore excursions, onboard freebies, and so on.

To save you the hassle, SmarterTravel investigated the glutted space of cheap cruise sites to determine which are worthy of listing as the best cruise websites; below are a few that come highly recommended.

The Best Sites to Book a Cruise

• Expedia (including Travelocity and Orbitz )
• TripAdvisor

Avoya Travel

Cheapcaribbean.com, cruisedirect, cruise critic, costco travel, cruisewatch.

Expedia is an obvious first mention in a list of the best cruise booking sites, in part because it’s an absolute juggernaut (Expedia also owns Travelocity and Orbitz ). Its cruise-booking interface is simple and straightforward, only requiring you to enter your preferred sailing destination and date range, as well as how many passengers you’ll be bringing along. Then Expedia does the heavy lifting for you, with comprehensive results that make it one of the best cruise search engines.

On Expedia, it’s common to find bookable cruises for 70 percent off face value, with the ability to sort by price so the best cruise deals come up at the top of the list, saving you the scrolling. A sample search for a mid-June cruise to Alaska, for example, quickly came up with a seven-night itinerary starting at $389 per person—that’s less than $56 per person, per night for a mostly inclusive weeklong vacation.

Expedia’s cruise deals tend to come paired with other enticing offers, including steep discounts on pre-departure hotels when you book both your cruise and hotel through Expedia. There’s also a dedicated 800 number that lets you speak to Expedia’s cruise experts and, often but not always, a generous amount of onboard credit thrown in for good measure.

Best feature: Sheer search power. Expedia’s easy-to-use cruise search engine generates a useful and well-ordered list of the best cruise deals, without much effort required from the user. Also, Expedia’s prices frequently match what the cruise lines themselves offer.

Check out Expedia

Priceline is another powerhouse among cheap cruise websites. The initial interface comes off a bit clunkier than, say, Expedia’s or Kayak’s, but the tradeoff is that you can quickly search by cruise line, both standard and luxury, as well as by cruise length and departure port.

Using the seven-night Alaska example, Priceline brought up an itinerary aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas that starts at just $374 for the full week—roughly $53 per night. Hard-to-believe cruise deals like this show up on Priceline with regularity, which is part of what solidifies it as one of the best cruise websites.

Also adding to the appeal: deals exclusive to Priceline, plenty of bonus amenities (examples include $50 in onboard credit, third and fourth guests sailing free, and free specialty dinners for two), no money down to book certain sailings, frequent onboard credit sales, an 800 number to call should you need assistance while booking, and a loyalty club that’s ties in with every cruise line’s loyalty program. Priceline also lets you click a “senior discount” box if that applies to you.

Best feature: Priceline’s “ 110% Best Price Guarantee ” promises that if you find your cruise listed at a lower price on another website within 48 hours of booking, then Priceline will refund you 110 percent of the cost difference, including port charges.

Check out Priceline

Tripadvisor

Many people think of Tripadvisor mainly as a travel review site, where you go to get real talk on hotels and attractions, and to see non-glamorized photos of places as seen through actual travelers’ eyes. But Tripadvisor is also an excellent site for travel deals, including on cruises.

Tripadvisor Cruise , which launched in April 2019, is among the best websites for cruise deals—it lets you nab the lowest price by comparing more than 70,000 ocean and river cruises from some 60 of the best cruise websites. It’s got an attractive, inspiring landing page, and its newest function, “Explore Ship-tinerary pages,” lets you browse full ship profiles, details, photos, and itineraries.

Though Tripadvisor is technically a meta-search site for cruises, which means that it will send you elsewhere to actually book, its search engine lets users sort by destination, length, cruise line, and month of travel. The default search results are ordered by “best value”, unless you specifically click that you’d rather see the results organized by price, cruise length, departure date, or cruise ship. Even when you click on “price,” the lowest-priced offering doesn’t always come up first, though it only takes a few seconds of scanning to determine which itinerary has the lowest price—that seven-night Royal Caribbean International trip to Alaska came up on Tripadvisor starting at $365.

Best feature: What makes Tripadvisor one of the best sites to book a cruise? In addition to having one of the best cruise search engines, Tripadvisor lets you read other cruisers’ candid reviews of the cruise that you’re considering, so that you get the non-sugarcoated truth about each sailing.

Check out Tripadvisor

7 Things You Should Never Do on a Cruise Ship

A rarity on the internet, Avoya Travel is a family-owned company that has been dealing in travel for more than 55 years. Avoya is one of the best sites to book a cruise in part because of its patented technology that lets travelers search cruises by destination, date range, cruise line, and last-minute status—and then get matched up, in real time, with one of Avoya’s expert vacation planners, who use that algorithm to customize a cruise booking to your specific preferences. (From Avoya’s website: “…we combine the ease of online search, with the expertise and personalized service of Independent Vacation Planners, plus secure exclusive deals and extras so you get more out of every vacation.”)

Avoya’s team of staffers and wide network of independent agencies make for a cruise booking website that’s a bit different from the rest. Its front page shows the “Best Travel Deals,” which might include half-off cruise fares, onboard credit, prepaid gratuities, and free or reduced airfare.

Like several of the other best cruise websites, Avoya offers a low-price guarantee; if you book a cruise with Avoya and then find a lower rate on another website within 24 hours of booking, Avoya will refund the difference.

Best feature: Avoya offers free membership, and members get exclusive deals and discounts, access to unpublished fares, first dibs on promotions, the ability to save favorite searches, and the right to book, change, or cancel travel without incurring any Avoya fees.

Check out Avoya Travel

When looking for the best site to book a cruise, don’t be put off by CheapCaribbean.com ’s overly specific moniker. Despite the site’s name, it offers cruises all over the world. The site’s vibe is beach-oriented and a bit cheeky, with a front page that can overwhelm—but click on the “Cruises” tab, and a cleaner interface appears. There you can search by cruise line, ship, destination, departure date, and departure port.

CheapCaribbean.com offers refunds on 24-hour cancellations (within certain parameters) and a “ 110 percent best price guarantee, ” a promise that if you find a lower price on the same cruise within 48 hours of booking, the company will refund you 110 percent of the difference. The site also lists traveler reviews about each cruise ship (as supplied by Cruiseline), though the reviews often include comments about the ship’s destinations other than the one you’re considering, which isn’t entirely helpful. There’s also a live chat widget if questions come up while booking.

Best feature: Helping to make CheapCaribbean.com one of the best cruise search engines is the fact that it lets you check boxes for additional discounts, including a senior discount, discounts by state (just enter your ZIP code), and past guest discounts if you’ve previously sailed with, say, Princess, Norwegian, or Disney.

Check out CheapCaribbean.com

Its front page is clunky and sort of in your face, but CruiseDirect is still one of the best cruise sites for a variety of reasons. As a cruise-only company, CruiseDirect doesn’t deal in flights, hotels, or rental cars, allowing it to focus its full capacity on helping you find the best cruise deal possible. On the site, you can search by destination, departure port, month, length of cruise, and cruise line. There’s real-time online chat and a contact number for support from a cruise expert. If you aren’t quite ready to buy, you can “heart” cruises to save them as favorites to refer back to later.

CruiseDirect offers perks on most sailings, like onboard credit, free drinks, free Wi-Fi, free gratuities, free travel insurance, or a free specialty dining experience—check out the “Bonus” box on the cruise listing you’re considering to see what extras it comes with.

Best feature: Like some of the other cruise websites on this list, CruiseDirect offers a “ best price guarantee ,” which means that if you find a lower price on another cruise booking website within 24 hours of your initial booking, you’ll get refunded the difference. But one key difference between CruiseDirect and the other cruise sites is that you don’t have to pay the cost of your cruise up front, just a deposit—and then if your cruise fare drops before you’ve made your final payment, CruiseDirect will readjust your rate accordingly.

Check out CruiseDirect

5 Crazy Themed Cruises You Can Take in 2022 and 2023

A subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Cruise Critic has similar search results to that site, but it offers a bit more comprehensive information for seasoned cruisers who want more details before they book. Cruise Critic has tons of filters and sort options to help you find what you want, including everything from cruise line to cruise style (family cruises, luxury cruises, cruises for the disabled). Each itinerary clearly lists what is and isn’t included in the fare; Wi-Fi, alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and port taxes and fees are among the common exclusions.

Certain itineraries are marked with graphics declaring that the ship has won one of the site’s “Cruisers’ Choice” awards, denoting vessels that Cruise Critic members declare to be the among the best in categories such as cabins, entertainment, and family-friendly features.

You can sign up for price alerts, which will notify you by email when the fare on your selected itinerary drops.

Once you’re ready to book, Cruise Critic shows you a variety of offers from some of the best cruise booking sites, including bonuses such as onboard credit and prepaid gratuities. Then you click off to the site of your choice to make your purchase. Prices generally match what’s advertised on Cruise Critic.

Best feature: Under each search result is a tab for “reviews” where you can read reviews from Cruise Critic members who’ve previously traveled on the ship. On certain cruises you can click over to a full-length write-up of the ship by one of the experts on the Cruise Critic editorial team, including detailed information on dining options, cabins, entertainment, dress code, and more.

Check out Cruise Critic

When you think of Costco, you probably think of bulk food and toilet paper. But the next time you’re booking a cruise, it’ll be worthwhile to pull up Costco Travel , which is, unexpectedly, one of the best cruise websites.

The site doesn’t look fancy—it’s pretty bare-bones, visually—but the upside of going with a no-frills cruise-booking website is that Costco Travel offers extremely competitive prices, as well as some of the most attractive incentives, usually in the form of Costco Cash delivered to you after you get home from your cruise.

Though there’s no single point of contact if you need to call and discuss your cruise booking, Costco Travel’s call center is staffed with helpful agents from early morning until evening, seven days a week, and passengers can rest assured that Costco won’t go out of business before they set sail. Note that a Costco membership (starting at $60 per year) is required to book with Costco Travel, and that Costco doesn’t accept American Express.

Best feature: Rock-bottom prices—plus lots of cash back if you play your cards right: Costco Citi cardholders earn 3 percent cash back on cruise purchases, which can combine with the 2 percent Costco Reward for Costco Executive Members for a total of 5 percent back on Costco Travel’s already super low cruise rates.

Check out Costco Travel

Pondering which is the best site to book a cruise? Keep Cruisewatch in strong consideration—more than a typical cruise booking website, Cruisewatch bills itself as a “digital cruise advisor” that couples data power with personalization.

As an artificial intelligence cruise advisor, Crusewatch created technology that makes searching and booking a cruise more efficient—the first, it calls “Cruise Price Prediction.” In short, Cruisewatch collected and stored the daily price for each ship and cabin over a span of five years, resulting in millions of data points—and a massive database that informs exactly when cruise prices are lowest, and when the greatest saving potential exists.

Thanks to this comprehensive price history, Cruisewatch can predict cruise prices and drops with an accuracy rate of around 80 percent. Using the site’s cruise price prediction alerts, travelers can save up to 71 percent just by booking at the right time.

In addition to being able to predict prices, Cruisewatch tailors user search results to match their established preferences through customizable profiles and other similar features. This means you won’t waste time wading through cruises that may be cheap but don’t align with your vacation goals.

Best feature: Cruisewatch’s easy-to-set price alerts, based on tons of data, allow users to be notified in real time of the best new cruise deals the minute they come online.

Check out Cruisewatch

Book a Stay With SmarterTravel Hotels

Need a place to stay the night before you set sail? Search SmarterTravel Hotels for great accommodations in your port of call.

Some of the links featured in this story are affiliate links, and SmarterTravel may collect a commission (at no cost to you) if you shop through them.

Follow Avital Andrews on Twitter  @avitalb  or on  Facebook .

Editor’s note: Sarah Schlichter contributed to this story.

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